The Quick Read: Yes, through select programs, if your savings and investments are large enough either to cover the whole loan outright or to be converted into a monthly qualifying income, subject to underwriting. The loan is built on your balance sheet, not your paycheck. You still need credit, seasoned statements and a real down payment.
- Qualifier path: eligible assets must equal or exceed the entire loan. No employment or income is documented.
- Depletion path: usable assets are divided by 60 months to create qualifying income, which then has to carry your payments.
- Credit: a 600 minimum score on the qualifier path. The depletion path follows the lender’s matrix.
- Not “no-doc”: every qualifying account is documented and seasoned.
- Rental purchases: a pure investment property usually fits a DSCR loan better, covered below.
The qualifier path is a consumer mortgage for a home you live in or a second home. The depletion path also reaches investment property, where the loan is business-purpose. Lendmire is a broker, so it arranges these loans through select lenders in its network. Its consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states, Pennsylvania among them. The program figures below do not change by state, and they are ceilings and floors, never offers.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier path: the loan is approved on assets alone, with no employment or income documented.
Asset depletion path: the lender turns your assets into a monthly income figure and tests it like ordinary income.
Haircut: the share of an account’s value the lender refuses to count. A 20% haircut means 80% counts.
Seasoning: how long money must sit in an account before it counts.
Debt-to-income (DTI): your monthly debts, including the new housing payment, compared against monthly income.
LTV (loan-to-value): the loan amount as a percentage of the property’s value.
Who This Works For (And Which Path Fits)
Asset-based mortgages fit people whose balances are large and whose documented income is not. That includes retirees living on a portfolio and people who just sold a business. It also fits anyone who received an inheritance or a legal settlement, and professionals who retired early.
Ask one question first. Can your eligible assets cover the whole loan? If yes, the qualifier path is cleaner. If not, the depletion path may work, because it only needs your assets to generate enough income on paper.
A borrower is reviewed on one path at a time. The two paths have different rules, so keep them separate.
How Does the Asset Qualifier Path Work?
On the qualifier path, your eligible assets after the credit percentages below must equal or exceed the entire loan. Nothing about your job or income is documented. Across Lendmire’s wholesale network, this is the simplest structure for someone with a large, liquid balance sheet.
Typical figures, through select programs and subject to underwriting:
- Leverage: up to 80% LTV on a purchase and 75% LTV on a refinance, on a principal residence or second home.
- Loan size: up to $4,000,000.
- Credit: a 600 minimum score. Housing history is 0x30x12 (a single 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case). Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible.
- Seasoning: 60 days, with two months of statements for each qualifying account.
- Reserves: none required at or below 75% LTV. Above that, the lender sets them. Terms vary by lender guidelines, property type, leverage, credit profile, and full file review.
Whether cash-out proceeds are allowed on this path is up to the lender and is not published, so ask before you plan around it.
Here is how the credit percentages work:
- Brokerage, CDs, money market and savings: each counts at 100%.
- 401(k) and IRA balances: 90% if you are under age 59½, and 100% at 59½ or older.
- Accounts combine: you can stack them toward the total.
Consider an illustrative case. An $800,000 loan is supported by $330,000 in brokerage accounts (100% counts $330,000). Add $300,000 in a 401(k) under 59½ (90% counts $270,000) and $200,000 in savings (100% counts $200,000). That totals $800,000 of usable assets, so the file is reviewed on assets alone. The lender’s own calculation governs.
How Does the Asset Depletion Path Work?
On the depletion path, the lender divides your usable assets by 60 months. The result is a monthly qualifying income, and that income must carry the full housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test. Use this path when your assets are big but smaller than the loan.
Illustratively, $1,500,000 in securities counts at 80%, or $1,200,000. Add $300,000 in cash at 100%. That is $1,500,000 usable, divided by 60 months, which gives $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income then has to carry the housing payment and your other debts. The lender’s calculation governs.
- Leverage on a principal residence or second home: up to 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance, and 60% on a cash-out refinance.
- Leverage on an investment property: up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance, and 60% on a cash-out. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets.
- Loan size: $125,000 to $3,500,000.
- Minimum assets: the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. When assets are your only income, never below $250,000 liquid.
- Credit: the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix. A first-time investor needs 700. A housing event needs 4 years of seasoning.
- Statements: at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent statement within 45 days. Funds from the sale of a business, an inheritance or a legal settlement are excused from that seasoning.
- Reserves: no published reserve months.
Asset income can also supplement documented income, up to a 45% DTI. When it supplements, the minimum-assets rule is waived. That helps borrowers with a small pension or Social Security check and a solid portfolio.
Which Assets Count and Which Don’t
Assets count at different percentages depending on the path. Never mix the two tables.
| Asset | Qualifier path | Depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Savings, money market | 100% | Cash accounts 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| Brokerage / securities | 100% | 80% |
| Private stock | Not published | 75% |
| Retirement accounts | 90% under 59½, 100% after | 70% at any age |
| Real-estate equity | Not published | 60% |
Some assets are not eligible on the depletion path: custodial accounts, deferred compensation, escrow accounts, foreign funds, cash on hand, stock options, non-vested restricted stock units, and funds from non-regulated financial companies.
Cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles, business accounts beyond your ownership share, and pledged or borrowed funds are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is converting them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the source reviewed by the lender.
Your down payment and closing funds come out of the same pool. The balance left over is what produces your qualifying income, so size the pool after the purchase, not before it. People miss that constantly.
What You Need to Gather
“No income documentation” never means “no documentation.” Expect to provide:
- Statements for every qualifying account, covering the seasoning period for your path.
- A source explanation for any large recent deposit or transfer.
- A credit report review and your housing payment history.
- The purchase contract or current mortgage details, plus property documents.
- For the depletion path, a list of monthly debts so the lender can run the DTI test.
Debts still matter. Asset-based qualification does not erase them. On the depletion path they are the other half of the equation.
Alternatives Compared
| Option | What it uses | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Asset qualifier | Assets cover the loan | Large liquid balances |
| Asset depletion | Assets become income | Assets below loan size |
| Bank statement | Business deposits | Self-employed with deposits |
| Co-borrower | Their income | Someone willing to share the loan |
| Full-doc conventional | W-2s, returns | Steady employment |
| Cash purchase | No loan | Ample liquidity |
The bank statement program is for borrowers who document income with deposits. If you have no deposits or business, it does not help.
The Honest Tradeoffs
Asset-based loans solve a documentation problem, not a liquidity problem. A borrower with no cash and no job has no path here, and the same goes for a borrower whose “assets” are mostly illiquid.
You are also parking a large balance as a qualifier. Market swings change what your securities count for at application. Retirement accounts are counted at a haircut on the depletion path. Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional before moving retirement money.
The qualifier path is usually the better deal for someone with a big savings balance, since it asks for no income math at all. But a retiree with a mostly invested portfolio often lands on depletion, and the 80% securities valuation (a 20% haircut) and the 60-month divisor then decide everything. Run both before you pick a house price.
What About an Investment Property?
On a rental you plan to buy and not live in, an asset-based mortgage is usually the wrong tool. Investment property is only available on the depletion path, and leverage there is capped at 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance. A pure rental purchase usually fits a DSCR loan better.
DSCR loans are designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties. Because they are business-purpose investor loans, they are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage, as the CFPB’s Regulation Z commentary lays out. That same commentary says an owner-occupied rental with two or fewer units is not automatically business purpose. Cash-out for personal use is also treated differently: a Doss Law guide gives the example of a cash-out refinance of a rental used to pay personal taxes.
A DSCR loan is reviewed primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. Your job status is not the center of the file, though credit, down payment and reserves still are. Select lenders in the network also offer programs below 1.00 coverage, but LTV and terms adjust.
Edge Cases
Retired with a pension or Social Security plus assets. Asset income may supplement your documented income, up to a 45% DTI, and the minimum-assets rule is waived when it does.
Just sold a business. Sale-of-business proceeds are excused from the depletion path’s statement-age seasoning, though the funds still have to be documented.
Recently laid off or between jobs. The qualifier path never asks about employment. The depletion path asks only whether the assets produce enough income.
Assets in a spouse’s name. Whose name is on the account matters. The lender reviews ownership, so raise it early.
First-time investor. The depletion path needs a 700 score.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Pennsylvania have its own asset-based mortgage rules?
No state-specific program rules apply here. The leverage, credit, asset and seasoning figures above are the same whether you live in Pennsylvania or elsewhere in the 16 licensed states. State factors such as local prices and insurance shape the property, not the program parameters.
Can I use my 401(k) or IRA?
Yes, subject to underwriting. On the qualifier path, it counts at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. On the depletion path, it counts at 70% at any age. You do not have to withdraw the money to use the balance.
Can I take cash out on a house I own?
On the depletion path, yes, at up to 60% LTV on a principal residence, second home or investment property. On the qualifier path, cash-out terms are set by the lender and are not published. Exact terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, property type, leverage, and a full review of the borrower’s file.
Is this a no-doc loan?
No. You document every qualifying account, with two months of statements on the qualifier path. On the depletion path, statements must be at least 120 days old plus one within 45 days. What you skip is employment and personal income documentation, not asset documentation.
What if my assets are mostly crypto or collectibles?
They are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is converting them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account. The lender reviews the source of those funds.
Next Step
If you are qualifying on assets rather than income and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare asset-based mortgage options based on your statements, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. Programs are placed through select lenders, are not a commitment to lend, and every file is underwritten individually.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in Pennsylvania page presents the program for Pennsylvania borrowers.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a mortgage broker licensed for consumer lending in 16 states. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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Informational only. Not a Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. Program availability and eligibility are subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, property review, and underwriting.
References
1. CFPB Regulation Z §1026.3 commentary
2. Doss Law business-purpose exemption guide
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Can You Get a Tennessee Asset-Based Mortgage With No Job? · Can You Lock Terms on an Asset-Based Mortgage Before Your Assets Finish Seasoning? · How Pennsylvania Retirees Qualify for a Mortgage Without a Paycheck
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in Pennsylvania
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Important disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage brokerage. Lendmire is not a direct lender, depository institution, or financial advisor. All loan inquiries are subject to lender underwriting; this article does not constitute a commitment to lend. Rates, terms, and program guidelines are subject to change without notice and vary by borrower profile, property type, and state. Information in this article is general in nature and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.